New Leaf
by Shadow Wolfboy
Summary: How far would you be willing to go to save everything? Well... this is how far I would be willing to go to save my town, this is my home, they're my family, and I would do anything and everything to make sure they are safe. Rating: K One-Shot.


**A/N: I'm so sorry about not updating on my Pony fanfiction, I've hit some snags with trying to get all my ideas out without making it seem like it was rushed or something I would be unhappy with, rest assured it's not discontinued, I will post the chapter as soon as I am finished.**

 **Also, I honestly don't know how I got started, maybe from playing New Smash Bros 3DS, but I've have developed an interest in Animal Crossing and have been playing the game New Leaf 3DS non-stop since July 5th. And like most people of the internet, I've become attached to the secretary Isabelle, so I figured it'd be sweet to write a fluff fic for her and the Mayor.**

The Mayor jolted awake as he awoke from something different in the air, he sat up and rubbed the sleep from his eyes as he looked to the other side of the bed, which was empty as he yawned again. He called out for her, not receiving an answer as he tossed the covers off of himself and swung his legs over the side of the bed, shivering softly as the cold floor greeted him, waking up a bit more. He looked at the alarm clock next to their bed, realizing it said 1:30 in the morning, he bit his lip as he felt a wave of panic run through him before he willed it away, assuring himself she was fine.

He pulled on his robe that she'd given to him as a gift for his birthday a few years ago, while it had indeed shown it's use by the slightly faded color, he kept it around simply because it was a special gift that she had in fact made, just for him. He rubbed the remaining sleep from his eyes as he picked up his lantern and pulled on a pair of slip-on shoes, pocketing his keys before making sure he locked the door and braced himself for the crisp autumn night that embraced him.

Pulling his robe tighter, he felt a shiver run down his spine as the night air gently snuck into the garmet, chilling him as he made a brisk pace toward the Town Hall. It's lights were still on, casting a pale yellow light on the surrounding area as he noted the other villagers were already tucked away in their houses and lost in dream land. The Mayor made quick, quiet work of passing through the village, making sure not to disturb any of his residents as he reached Town Hall, trying the door and, unsuprisingly, found it locked. As she'd had the tendancy to do so on more than one occasion, she usually locked the door after a certain time if she were to have to stay late to finish up paperwork or one of her other duties.

Fishing out his keys, he turned the knob and unlocked it, shutting it quietly behind himself and smiled at the sight. There she was, passed out from exhaustion with a stack of papers next to her. Though he had to give her credit, the stack in the 'Outgoing' pile was far larger than the 'Received' stack. He set the lantern down at the table next to the door, walking to her and stepped behind the counter, gently starting to rub her shoulders, causing her to mumble and stir a bit. He pressed his lips to her cheek, giving a gentle kiss as he massaged her shoulders.

"...You fell asleep again, love." The Mayor chuckled quietly, suppressing another chuckle as the canine female shot straight up, her eyes now wide as she attempted to begin working again.

"Oh! Mayor! I'm so sorry! I was trying to get these papers down before sundown, but Pete brought another batch in the mail and it was twice what I was doing before that. I was just getting done approving the fireworks show for Friday and-" Isabelle spoke quickly, her words coming out as a blur and it was only from knowing her so long that the Mayor understood her.

"Calm down, it's okay, it's okay." He soothed her, rubbing her shoulders again and she seemed to relax a bit, her tail slowly wagging as he turned her around and brought her into a hug, smiling at her.

"I'm sorry..." She mumbled into his embrace, looking up at him.

"It's quite alright. I'll admit, I just woke up myself and when I saw you weren't home, I got a bit worried and came here to see if you were still working." The Mayor explained.

"You can dock my pay for falling asleep, and-" Isabelle began, but stopped when the Mayor put a finger to her lips, shushing her and she blushed.

"We've known eachother for years, Bell. I said it's alright, you won't get your pay docked. You've proven yourself time and again as a valuable friend and secretary. I wouldn't be anywhere today without you." She blushed at his comment, remaining silent.

"But this paperwork-" She began again.

"Can surely wait until the morning." The Mayor smiled kindly, smoothing her hair that had become a bit messy due to her panic. "Let's go home and get some sleep, you've earned it."

She nodded, gasping when he scooped her up into his arms, instinctively wrapping her own around his neck and cuddled close, listening to his steady strong heartbeat as she began to doze again. The Mayor smiled at her, carrying her toward the door and turned out both the lantern and the lights to the Town Hall, deciding to come back for the equipment in the morning as he closed and locked the door behind them. By the time he reached their house and kicked off his shoes, she was already fast asleep in his arms, breathing softly as she was snuggled into his chest.

He smiled at her, trying to lay her on her side, but she refused to let go, whimpering softly and clinging to him. He bit back a laugh as he laid with her in his arms, and while it was nothing new for them, it was still adorable the way she wanted to be as close to him as possible while they slept. Turning off his alarm for the morning, he rubbed her back, listening to her soft breathing and mumbles as he slowly began to fall back asleep, now feeling the familiar air return with Isabelle by his side as they dreamt together.

 _-The Next Morning-_

The Mayor groaned, rolling over on his stomach, his right arm was asleep from having the circulation slowed from sleeping on it and then felt around on the other side of the bed, feeling only sheets and blankets. He shot up, immediately awake as he looked around the room and found himself sleeping alone again. Cradling his arm as he tried to get it working again, now feeling pin-pricks of needles, the smell of food cooking soothed his worries as he smiled to himself, realizing Isabelle left only to make them breakfast.

He yawned softly, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes from what felt like the millionth time as he got out of bed and headed toward the kitchen where the delicious aroma only got stronger and stronger with each step. Isabelle was busy at the stove cooking up some apples with cinnamon and some eggs and bacon, humming to herself. She'd already showered as he could smell her favorite shampoo, and dressed in a casual skirt, leggings and a white button down shirt with her favorite ribbon on her neck and her hair up in her usual ponytail with the bell.

"Morning beautiful." He cleared his throat, grinning as Isabelle involuntarily jumped, turning around.

"Aww... I was wanting to surprise you with breakfast." She made a cute face, pouting as she turned back to the food, tending to it before it burned.

"Well, color me surprised." The Mayor smiled, fixing themselves a cup of orange juice each, setting up the table as she finished up their food and served up two plates, taking a seat across from him as they began to eat.

"...Again, I'm sorry about falling asleep." Isabelle said quietly, she was the type to put herself down hard whenever she was slacking or goofing off, both of which she rarely did when it came to work.

The Mayor chuckled. "It's alright, again, you're fine, love. However," She gulped, looking up at him guiltily but perked up when she saw him smile. "I believe after the constant events for the End Of Summer, and the Falling Leaves Festival, we've both deserved a nice vacation, don't you think?"

"Vacation? You mean..." She stuttered rather cutely as she fidgeted, starting at her fingers as she pressed them together nervously. "...just the two of us?"

"Oh um..." The Mayor blushed, showing his rare bashful side, something only Isabelle and a select few others have seen. "I mean... if you don't mind spending a Vacation with me, why not? I was just suggesting we could both maybe-"

"I'd love to." Isabelle smiled, her blush still very much evident on her cheeks as her tailed wagged and she began to eat again.

"T-Then... I'll have to see what we can do after all this is over." The Mayor smiled back, his blush growing stronger as he looked at his plate shyly.

It was true that they both held feelings for the other, that they lived and slept together and practically share their lives already, however... in the both of them, there was that single lingering doubt of their feelings, they were still afraid. Even though all the obvious signs showed that they were longing to be together, fear still kept them rooted from professing their feelings. While they may have talked and acted like lovers, they were never anything more than best friends. Many of the villagers have tried to set them up, with various- often hilarious- results.

Isabelle cleared her throat and The Mayor realized he had already finished his food and was currently running his fork around his plate, making a dull quiet scraping noise. Picking up on this he immediately set his fork down on his platter and the young woman took the dishes to the sink, beginning to wash them. He offered to help, but she insisted that it was fine and he should be getting ready for annoucing the Fireworks show for Friday.

"Breakfast was delicious, Bell. Thank you." With that in mind, he gave her a quick kiss on the cheek for the morning, heading to the bathroom to start the day. He washed the night from his body, relaxing for a moment longer as he let the warm water work it's magic on his skin and muscles before doing one last wash and turned off the shower, drying off and pulled on some fresh clothes after brushing his teeth. A pair of khaki slacks and a button down red shirt with a brown belt, a pair of grey socks and black shoes. After combing his hair, he stood in front of the dresser mirror as he tried to tie his tie, with no luck.

He averted his gaze as he noticed Isabelle coming out of the shower shortly, the fog doing it's best to protect her modesty as she too dried off and dressed. After she finished, he turned to her as she walked to stand next to him, letting him brush her hair. After pulling it up in her favorite ponytail, she allowed a small giggle as she turned to face him, starting to tie his tie.

"...Even after ten years of knowing you, you still can't tie this thing." She smiled warmly up at him, filling both of their bodies with warm vigor as he smiled back.

"You know me, even with lessons I still can't." He chuckled, blushing as she kissed his nose gently.

"Come on, Mayor, we've got a town to run." Isabelle giggled. He loved her smile and giggle...

 _-Later, In Town-_

"Ah! Mayor! Mayor!" The Mayor looked up from his clipboard as he saw the blue wolf Skye running up to him, net in paw. She stopped in front of him, panting as she leaned over and then stood up, smiling widely.

"Yes, Skye. What can I do for you?" He smiled kindly at his friend, who merely blushed and wagged her tail.

"I had this for you, I caught it just this morning for you because you've been the best Mayor this down has had in years, according to my mother's account. It's my way of saying thanks!" Skye gave a musical laugh, producing a small netted box, which had a lone cricket inside. "I remember that my grandparents said that this cricket is supposed to bring you good luck, and I just thought that out of everyone in our village, you would need it most to get everything up and running for the Fireworks show on Friday." Skye beamed with pride at her catch.

The Mayor chuckled. "Ah, well Skye, I really do appreciate your offer..." He noted that her posture fell and her face began to grow sad. "But I do know someone who would greatly appreciate a fine cricket such as that."

"Really? Who?" Skye asked, now interested as her ears perked up.

"Blaire, the young chipmunk living across from Reese's Re-Tail shop. I've spoken with her quite a few times and she's rather lonely, she's admitted to me that she's been trying for the past week to catch something, anything, in her net, but she always comes up short. It would mean a great deal to her if you gave her that as a gift, she would find much more use out of it than I would." The Mayor explained, smiling.

"Oh Mayor!" Skye gushed, grinning widely and her tail wagged harder. "You're so generous! Always looking out for everyone, this is why you're our favorite Mayor!"

With that, she left to go find Blaire and The Mayor chuckled at his good deed, finishing up the checklist as Isabelle brought them lunch. She had been busy getting all the proper permits filed out and mailed off while the Mayor was making sure that all of their proper equipment was in stock when, he was confident it would be approved, the festival was greenlit.

"Thank you, love." Mayor smiled, sitting on a bench in front of the town fountain as they began to eat some fruit she'd provided.

"It's no problem, Mayor." Isabelle waved off his praises, blushing and nibbled on a peach. "You know..."

The Mayor looked up from his bottle of water as she spoke, kicking her feet as she looked up at the clear blue sky.

"It's hard to believe how far this town has come since you came to it's rescue ten years ago. When I saw you get off that train, I knew you were the one to bring this town back to it's former glory. Even more so, this town has never been livelier." She smiled a toothy grin at him, which he returned with a soft smile. "I just want to thank you for everything you've done for the residents and this town, it takes a lot of patience and love to bring up a beautiful town such as this."

"I have you to thank, without you, none of this would have been possible. Without my resourceful beautiful secretary." The Mayor blushed, sipping on his water.

"Oh don't be modest, it was all you." Isabelle giggled, blushing at his compliment.

"...It was us." The Mayor said softly, laying a hand on her paw, looking into her eyes as he smiled.

Isabelle blushed even more, cutely so as she turned away from him and he continued: "...about... us..."

"Y-Yes?" Isabelle gulped softly, her voice tightening as her stomach twisted in knots and her voice squeaked out, mustering the courage to look at him.

"...I've been thinking a lot... we've known eachother for a long time..." Mayor said softly, his face engulfed in a blush. "And I just want to know if-"

"Hey!" A voice jolted them out of their private moment, the Mayor dropping his water where it spilled onto the cobblestone, temporarily forgotten as the pair saw Isabelle's brother Digby running up to them.

"Oh, what's up Digby?" Isabelle and Mayor scooted a bit apart instinctively, but it didn't go unnoticed by the other canine, especially since they were both red in the face, but he decided to not comment on the matter.

"I got my first gig! Bam!" He held up the sheet of paper excitedly, grinning from ear to ear as the pair read the paper and then smiled back.

"That's great!" "I'm so happy for you, Digby!"

"Heh, thanks. I'll be sure to dedicate the first song to you two. You're the ones who convinced me to follow my dream to start a band." Digby rubbed his neck, still ecstatic from the news.

Isabelle scooted over to allow her brother to sit next to her, which inadvertantly put her closer to Mayor. True, while under normal circumstances they wouldn't be nervous to get close, however after their near personal conversation, they were both still a bit embarrassed.

They talked a while about what kind of songs he would play for Club LOL, knowing full well he should've discussed it with his band first, but they let him ramble on as he was obviously excited about coming one step closer to following his dream. He used to work as a guard for the Happy Home Showcase, but after voicing his displeasure at having to stand around all day to both Mayor and Isabelle, they convinced him to try his hand at his old hobby of playing the guitar and singing.

After the sun had started to set on the horizon, Digby excused himself to go chat with the rest of his band for his gig on Friday to kick off the Fireworks show. After he left, the air grew still for Mayor and Isabelle, who merely started to clean up their mini-picnic.

"Well, all the equipment checks out. Everything is in order, all we have to do is wait for the permits to come in the mail." Mayor told her, and Isabelle's face grew pale. "What is it?"

"What about the paper that contains the signatures from all the villagers agreeing to the festival?" She asked him, and Mayor tilted his head.

"I thought it was with the papers containing the letter for asking for the permits?" He asked back, frowning.

"No no no no no!" Isabelle groaned, snatching the clipboard from him as she began to look through the papers and checklists and suppressed another groan as she showed him the signatures, which had been stuck to another page. "We need this mailed out along with the rest of the paperwork I sent out this morning!"

"Okay okay, calm down, I'll get it done." He pulled an envelope from the clipboard and folded up the paper, and stuck it inside, sealing it shut as Isabelle turned to look at the fountain in worry as she was thinking if she'd forgotten anything else. Mayor leaned in to give her a kiss on the cheek, his sign of letting her know that it would get done, but she had turned her head at the last second and their lips brushed for a fraction of a few seconds, causing electricity to run through their bodies as he pulled back, their faces an equal shade of apple red. "I...I'll be back, it'll get sent out."

Embarrassed, he turned and ran off toward the post office as fast as he could. He was sure that Isabelle would hold no ill will toward him for the small kiss, but his fear still gnawed at his stomach as he crossed the railroad tracks, the bells ringing as the guards came down to allow a train to pass unhindered. As he stopped in front of the post office to catch his breath, he replayed that small scene through his mind. It was short and sweet...

Shaking his head to think straight, he opened the door and was greeted by Pelly who merely giggled at his dishelven state from the run, producing a small stack of envelopes.

"Miss Isabelle wanted to mail these out, but I just wanted to be sure that everything was in order, I was just about to send for you, actually." She answered his expression as he held up an envelope, writing down the addresses on it and applied a stamp to it, adding it to the other mail. "Ah! So she did forget something. Don't get me wrong, she's very sweet and hard working, but she's only a person, everyone makes mistakes."

"Yeah, she still apologizes so much for everything. Even when I tell her it's alright." Mayor chuckled, smiling as Pelly put the mail on the outgoing stack, ready for Pete to pick up in an hour. "Thank you for holding those."

"You're welcome, Mr. Mayor." Pelly smiled warmly. "Oh, and these came for you earlier. Another reason why I was going to send for you. An invoice from your bank and a buisiness letter from the head of the company of Save-A-Mart."

Mayor sighed, accepting the letters. "Thank you Pelly, I don't know how many times I have to tell Mr. Crawford the answer to sell my town is 'no'. He just won't stop pestering me about it."

"Well, you have a good night, Mr. Mayor. And tell Mrs. Mayor I said 'Hi!'." Pelly chirped, causing Mayor to freeze up and walk smack right into the door, his eyes wide and face red again.

"We're not..." He began, blushing profusely.

"Oh pish-posh! Everyone in the town can see it! We're just waiting on when you two will plan a wedding!" Pelly laughed, smiling at the Mayor's stuttering reaction.

"...I need to go." Mayor said quickly, leaving the Post Office before he became more embarrassed. He had to stop for another train, but this one had stopped directly at the station instead of passing through onto the next town. While he was mildly curious about who was disembarking, he had no time to think on the matter as he had to get back to Isabelle and let her know that the mail had been sent out successfully.

His heart started to beat faster as he walked to Town Hall, taking a few shaky breaths before willing his feet to move across the tracks and he started opening the letter as he pulled the door open, looking up to see Isabelle at her usual front counter, blushing as they locked eyes.

"...can we talk?" Isabelle asked softly, her face reddening up as Mayor pulled the letter free from the envelope, unfolding it and nodded beginning to read it.

"Isabelle, I know that I kissed-" His voice cut off as he struggled to breath, rereading the letter once... twice... thrice, it-it couldn't be possible! "W-What the...?!"

"What is it?" Isabelle asked, realizing something was seriously wrong as Mayor's face paled. She got up from her seat, walking over to him and laid a paw on shoulder and he tensed up, showing her the letter.

"Dear Master..." Isabelle's voice trailed off as she read the letter, her voice hitching in her throat as she reread the letter the same as Mayor did, gasping when she realized what this meant. "H-He what?! This can't be real! How did he do this?!"

"I...I don't know..." Mayor sounded defeated, weary as he collasped onto the loveseat, his expression stricken and pale as he clutched his stomach, feeling butterflies and tried his best not to get sick.

"How could Mr. Crawford somehow swoop under our noses and buy out our town without ANY consent from us?!" Isabelle ranted, showing her rare angry side. "Ohhhh, bad word! Bad word, bad word, bad word!" She cried out, clutching at her hair.

She wasn't the type to use profane language, and in fact discouraged it. For the most part, this town was one of the most language free places in the country. Whenever the need for such language arose, if at all which wasn't often honestly, Isabelle always said 'Bad Word!'. It was adorable whenever she got mad like that, as long as you weren't on the receiving end. However... not even her adorableness could make him feel better at the moment, somehow... Crawford had found some loophole or possibly forged documents of Mayor signing over the town to him.

"...I wonder if this is more bad news." Mayor said quietly as Isabelle sat next to him, burying her face in her paws as she cried. Immediately after reading the letter from his bank, he regretted and now he felt even more sick.

"What's... in the bank statement?" Isabelle asked quietly, her voice just barely a whisper as she leaned her head on his shoulder, shaking softly from the mix of emotions that ran through her body.

"...Crawford... managed to get my account frozen for the next two weeks." Mayor answered quietly, his eyes stinging with hot tears as Isabelle turned her head and cried into his chest. "He apparently provided proof that I was dealing on the black market and my small fortune was dirty money, so they froze my account while an investigation is being made." At her look, he told her: "It's not true, Bell. I'm not that kind of person, I've made an honest living."

"...bad word..." Isabelle whimpered, wiping her eyes on his shirt as she sniffled. "Isn't there any way to persuade Crawford to give us the town back?"

Mayor twirled his mother's ring around on his finger, lost in thought as he tried to think of something, _anything_ to save his precious town from being demolished for Crawford's blasted Save-A-Mart Super Store.

"The letter said if we can give him two million bells... he would give us the town back, if we don't have it by Saturday..." he trailed off and shook his head, tears falling as he held Isabelle close.

"...He froze my account, he _knew_ I had the money to pay him off, he thought of everything." He whispered to her, shaking from anger and sadness while Isabelle kept quiet and held tight onto him. He looked down at his ring, frowning until an idea slowly came to his head. "Unless... unless we raise the money."

"How?" Isabelle whispered, looking up at him as she wiped her eyes. "How are we supposed to raise two million bells in three days? It's the end of Wednesday, and he's bringing his demolishers on Saturday... so how?"

"We'll find a way, love. We always do." He told her, smiling as he was gaining confidence in himself as he stroked her cheek, kissing her nose. "I'll see about earning up some bells like I originally did starting out, cracking open rocks and selling fruit and fishing." He beamed at his plan.

Isabelle giggled softly, looking up at him. "...I'll help any way I can. I've never given up on you, and I'm not going to start now."

"...I don't think we should tell the villagers about this. At least not yet. If things look bleak, then... we'll have no choice but to tell. If we keep at it, we'll rack up the bells in no time!" Mayor smiled, getting more and more confident by the minute. "I'll go ahead and see Reese about what she'll pay most for."

"And I'll go help out Pelly and Shelly with the post office." Isabelle concluded, smiling as they both agreed with their respective jobs in mind, confident that they would see this through to the end and save their village, together.

However... when they left Town Hall, they were stopped by two wolves and a fox, all of whom wore crisp stylishly cut business suits with the Save-A-Mart logo pinned to their lapels.

"Mr.-" The Fox began, but was cut off by Mayor holding up a hand.

"I know why you're here. Please, tell your boss that we'll get the money to him by Saturday. Me and my town aren't going anywhere." He told them, who merely blinked and looked at him as if he had grown two heads.

"I see... well, we were actually here to pass you the blueprints for you to look over, and papers _legally_ requiring you to sign." The fox cleared his throat, placing emphasis on 'legally' handing him the paper and blueprints to Mayor.

He kept a straight face as he accepted them. "Get ready to have these handed right back Saturday, unsigned and with a check for 2 million bells."

With that, Isabelle in his arm, he walked away with his dignity and pride and began led her to the post office so she could apply for the job.

 _-Thursday, 4:53 PM-_

Mayor muttered to himself as he fumbled through his knapsack for his shots and finally found one and used it before he got any worse, feeling his allergies fade away as he eyed the beehive, walking away slowly before he got stung again. Fortunately, it was only a baby bee, so it didn't affect him as bad as an adult would. Unfortunately, in terms of tree work, there was only so much he could do due to his allergy to bees. He was deathly allergic, he had a few close calls before, and it was only because of his allergy shots and Isabelle that he was still here today. He swallowed hard as he pulled out his folded up shovel, looking around for any signs of fossils or suspicious rocks. He found one with a slight fissure in the side and gave it a quick tap, some of the rock crumbling away easily.

"AHA!" Mayor grinned widely as he smacked the blade of his shovel into the rock, cracking it in two, revealing a crystalized sapphire ore. He snatched it up and put it into his knapsack, humming to himself as he disposed of the rock and began to search for more things for him to sell. His pack was already bulging with his collections for the day and he was eager to see how much he'd made with this load. So far he had made 100,225 bells with the past five trips carrying his hoard, he was hoping to get at least 10,000 for this one.

He dropped them off with Reese, earning a hefty 30,245 bells for his hard work and he was genuinely surprised and happy, smiling all the way while he hummed to himself as he started to head to the Post Office for lunch with Isabelle.

He grit his teeth as he saw a few of the Save-A-Mart workers going over some ideas at the Train Station and he walked over to them, clearing his throat as they glared at him.

"Can I help you?" The Fox grumbled, crossing his arms. "You interrupted a business meeting."

"I just wanted to ask, would you kindly move your 'meeting' elsewhere? I don't want my villagers getting too rowdy about you being here discussing plans to ruin our home." Mayor replied. "I haven't signed anything yet, so you've no choice but to leave."

"Ah ha... well, 'Mayor'... we own this town, it'll be ours Saturday." The Fox retorted, and now it was Mayor's turn to cross his arms, arching an eyebrow.

"It's not yours. I don't see your name on it. Now if you don't mind..." He started pushing them toward the train and they didn't resist, grumbling as they boarded the train and continued to talk, further infuriating Mayor as they finally left and he headed to the Post Office, taking a few deep breaths to calm himself down before he entered the building, shaking his head.

"...Did they come bother you too?" Isabelle asked, frowning as she handed him a bottle of water, which he drank gratefully with a nod and she sighed. "I really wish they would stop rubbing it in. It's not over yet, we've still got time."

"I know..." Mayor wiped the excess water from his mouth as he put it on the counter, sighing as he tried to think of where he could find some rice grasshoppers, they weren't anywhere in the area, maybe he should head to the Island after lunch...

"So how has your day been?" He asked her as they sat on a bench in the behind the post office, looking up at the clouds as they both tried to come up with ways for them to raise the money fast. Even with the rate of earning bells steadily increased, lingering doubts still wormed their way into them as they feared the worst.

"It's been fine..." Isabelle said, sounding distracted as she rest her head on his shoulder, sipping her drink. "I... sent a letter to my parents today."

"Really?" Mayor asked, surprised as she and Digby rarely, if ever, spoke of their parents. "What for?"

"...Asking them for help." Isabelle admitted quietly. "We're doing our best, Mayor, I know. But it would go so much faster if it were more than just us getting the money. You and I both know that."

She looked up at him as he sighed. "I know... I just don't want to worry the villagers about the possibility of us coming up short and failing."

"But with all the villagers pitching in, we'd raise the money faster with their help. We need to tell them." Isabelle said softly, laying a paw on his arm. "Mayor... I know we don't want to have the villagers run around in chaos from worry of their houses being destroyed, but we need all the help we can get. Please... for me...?" She added that last one softly.

Mayor breathed in deeply, looking down at his water as he was lost in thought. All the villagers... all his friends... everyone was depending on him to get this done, it was his duty as Mayor to do everything and anything it took to keep his town safe. Isabelle had a point, but... he still didn't want to worry the villagers. The pressure was really starting to get to him, and he was sure Isabelle felt it as bad as he did. He was so stressed he was at a loss at the moment when he realized he only had one full day left to get the money... and he only earned 180470 bells...

"...I don't know, Bell." He said softly, shaking his head. "I just don't know... on the one hand, the villagers will help but if we come up short, everyone would be devestated. And if we just tell them Saturday that their homes are being destroyed and we never told them... oh God they'd be just as devestated..." He buried his face in his hands, sighing heavily.

Isabelle took his hands in her paws, tilting his head to look her in the eyes, allowing a soft smile.

"...like you said, we'll get through this, we always have." She told him, her voice cracked only slightly from emotion, but remaining steady as she ran her digits over his fingers, stopping at his ring finger, finding it bare. "Where did your mother's ring go?"

Mayor averted his eyes, afraid to see her expression. "...I sold it to Reese, she gave me 50,000 bells for it."

"...Oh you." She said softly, stroking his hands again as she smiled sadly. "You are a true man. Such lengths you are taking to save the town, it's inspiring. That would make us the richest town on earth, having a Mayor who would do anything for his people. That is a true man who would put everything else before himself."

He smiled at her, touching her face gently and leaned close as his eyes searching for any sign of rejection but found none, in fact she seemed to lean toward him in return. Just a fraction before their lips met, Pelly opened the back door to annouce that she needed Isabelle.

"Oh um..." Pelly stammered, looking away as Isabelle and Mayor split apart, clearing their throats and looked away, blushing. "Well um... Isabelle, I'll need your help in a minute."

"Okay, I'll be there in a minute, Pelly." Isabelle murmured, twirling locks of her hair as she looked at her feet. And with that, the young pelican let them be as Mayor stood up, still red as a tomato but now he smiled, a thought had come to mind.

"I've got an idea, but I'll have to tell you later, okay? I'll see you at the house tonight." He turned her head, giving her nose a kiss and left the Post Office to head toward the train station, leaving Isabelle alone, flustered and slightly angry.

But not at him, no... she was angry at herself. It felt like for the past ten years, they've been fighting the fear of admitting their feelings... ten long years she'd waited for him to make the move, she wanted desperately to be with him, yet... neither of them had the courage to take a step forward and start a relationship and now... it seemed as if every time they had a moment to show any bit of intimacy that wasn't merely between friends, they were interrupted... she wiped her eyes as she finished her drink, frowning.

...Were they destined not to be together?

"...why am I such a coward? I need to tell him how I feel." She murmered to herself as she stood up, heading back inside to help Pelly.

 _-Thursday, 8:23 PM-_

"It's alright, I'm fine, I'm sorry I worried you." Mayor spoke to Isabelle through the train's phone, smiling softly as he pat his pocket, which he had earned a whopping 1 million bells from his little escapade. She was worried sick when he hadn't called her to let her know he was okay or what he was doing, and truth be told, he'd rather not tell her what he did, besides all that mattered was he had half the money. "I did it, I got the money. We're one step closer to getting it done."

She was greatly surprised, to say the least. She kept asking him what he did, but he refused. All he said was he sold something he felt he no longer needed, and she sighed, leaving it at that since she knew he probably wasn't going to tell her anytime soon. Isabelle wished him a safe trip home and all was well the first few stops, it did get crowded a few times, but he was secure where he was, only muttering soft 'Sorry' and 'Excuse me's to people that kept bumping into him.

One of the passengers even stumbled into him, and he couldn't blame the man. He was quite older, having to use a cane for his weak legs, he said. The man quickly apologized, heading out the doors on the next stop. Mayor was so excited to get home to show Isabelle his good work as he hummed, riding the train all the way to his Town and finally reached his stop.

He got off and started running toward their house, trying to go as fast as his feet would carry him. However, fate had other plans for the young man as his foot caught in a pit-fall trap laid by one of the younger pranksters in the town, causing him to fall in a waist deep hole as he struggled to get out, flailing around as he felt as if he were in quicksand. He grabbed a branch from a nearby tree for support, pulling himself up and felt it snap, the branch flipping out of his hand and knocking a beehive down onto the ground, where it smashed and the angry bees buzzed out, zeroing in on him.

"Oh no!" Mayor shouted, swatting them away as he tried to run off, getting stung multiple times as he cried out in pain, collapsing in the dirt as he managed to shoo them off, the pain was unbearable as he felt his skin starting to puff up, his body growing much warmer than usual and his heart and pulse sped up due to his allergies, he struggled to breath, letting out weak wheezes of 'Help' as he tried to crawl toward his house, seeing Isabelle walking around with a basket of fruit she had apparently just picked. Calling out to her weakly, she looked around and wondered if she was just hearing things as she shrugged and kept walking. He tried calling her name louder, as it was getting even harder to breath and this time, she looked right at him, gasping as her eyes went wide and ran over to him.

"Mayor! What-oh God!" Isabelle shouted as she tried to lift him up, only managing to heft his arm on her shoulder and trying to drag him toward the hospital on Mainstreet "SOMEBODY HELP!" she screamed, now in hysterics as she tried to lift him up, but he was just too heavy, and his affected skin didn't help either.

Their saving grace was Digby, who had heard the scream from his house not too far from them, poking his head out and seeing Isabelle struggle with Mayor, running over to them and immediately helped carry him to the hospital. She was thanking Digby as it was easier to carry him, and soon they were inside, where Mayor was instantly taken from their care and into the E.R. It was like a bad dream Isabelle couldn't wake up from, she was pacing back and forth as minutes went by, then an hour... then two hours... and she was still pacing. Digby tried his best to calm her down, to assure her that everything was going to be alright, however it fell on deaf ears, she wouldn't hear any of it.

"...Digby, what if he..." Isabelle stopped herself there, biting her lip as she started crying for what seemed like the millionth time that night as yet another doctor went back into the E.R. Her brother got up and brought her into a hug at once, to which she returned as she cried into his chest, not even able to see as the tears blurred her vision, closing her eyes tight and the tears fell freely. It... it wasn't fair... she blamed Mr. Crawford for all of this... if it weren't for him... Mayor would be alright...

"Digby..." She whispered, looking up into her brother's eyes. "I love him... He needs to pull through, I love him too much to lose him. For the past ten years... every single day, I've wanted to be with him, I hoped by moving in with him, we'd be able to grow closer. W-We have... but... we've both been too afraid to admit our feelings. I want him to pull through, I need him."

Digby allowed a soft smile as his sister looked up at him, kissing her forehead in a brotherly way as he smoothed her hair. "He will, we've got the best doctors in all of New Leaf Town. No doubt about it."

After another tense half hour, the head doctor came out, a small smile on his face that lifted Isabelle's spirits quite a bit as he held up a hand when she immediately stood up. He told her that he was sorry for the long wait, it was much more severe than they originally thought, and they just wanted to be sure they got every little bit of bee stingers out of him and he should be fine by the morning, however he needed to stay overnight and possibly the next day just to be safe. Isabelle nodded, her tail wagging fast as she was finally let into his room, where he lay peacefully. While he didn't look as bad as before, it was still noticeable that he had a bad reaction.

"...Sam?" Isabelle called out softly, placing a paw on his hand, he opened his eyes and looked at her, smiling softly.

"Hey Bell... sorry... about worrying you." He croaked out and she shook her head, choking back a sob of happiness that he was alright and kissed his hand, holding it in her paws.

"Where were your shots?" She asked, frowning. "It's not like you to forget them."

"Well... that's... where the money comes in..." He said softly, looking away and Isabelle's expression changed to incredulity as she pieced it together and gasped.

"...S-Samhain Mayor! You did _not_ do what I think you did!" She said, her expression getting really angry as she was about to go 'Isabellistic' on him and he sat up with a groan, holding up a hand. "Oh no, you're not getting out of it this time, Mister! Those shots were to keep you from having this very thing happening! Why on _earth_ would you stoop that low by selling them?! Out of all the senseless things you've done..."

"I-I did what I thought was right! I wasn't about to let the Town get destroyed, I have-oh no... you've got to be kidding me!" Sam bit his lip as he felt in his pocket on the jacket hanging next to his chair, feeling nothing but empty space. "Those bells I got from the sale are gone! That-" He stopped, realizing that guy who bumped into him. He must have taken them! "No! That guy must have... no... this is horrible..." He looked down at his hands, closing his eyes tightly as he tried to calm himself down.

"...you did the best you could." Digby said softly, patting Sam's shoulder gently. "Isabelle told me everything, I've been trying to help any way I could. I've raised quite a bit of bells so I'd be glad to add them to the mix, how much do we have so far?"

"...Everything I had was in that pouch." Sam said meekly, and Isabelle let out a groan of frustration and shook her head, regaining her composure while Digby rubbed his neck, now nervous himself as he wondered if he should take Isabelle out before it got too rough or not...

"Sam..." She said softly, smiling and looking at him. "I know it looks bleak, but I know we'll get out of this." Even now, she was loyal to the end, he himself was starting to have doubts if they'd ever get out of it or not.

All in all... he'd messed up big time, and now... it may cost him his town...

 _-Friday 6:50 PM-_

By now, they'd tried even harder, Isabelle reaching out to all of her friends and family, letting them know their predicament and asked for all the help they could. So far... only a few responded, the rest... no answer whatsoever. Hopefully it wasn't that the mail got lost, or worse that Crawford intercepted the mail to hinder them even further. They both concluded last night that the man was probably sent by Crawford to steal the money to keep him from getting the money raised.

"Well... this is it.. time for one last hurrah for our Town." Sam said quietly, looking at Isabelle who merely took his hand in her paw, walking with him to the Town Center, were Redd and the stage were set up, all ready for the Fireworks show. "We'll tell them after the show, hopefully it'll soften the blow."

Isabelle nodded, smiling softly suprising them both that she still had it in her to smile, after the night they spent together staying up by trying to think up last minute ideas to save their town. "...About... yesterday, when you were recovering, it was before I was able to go in to see you."

"Yes?" Sam replied, looking at her from behind his light blue glasses, pushing them back up his nose. He was feeling much better, they had released him earlier in the morning and he'd spent the past couple of hours doing bee-free work to raise as many bells as he could. He'd raised quite a bit... however sadly it just wasn't enough, he still needed a _lot_ more than what he currently had, added with what Isabelle earned and got from Digby, they were still short.

"I was talking to Digby and... I have something I really need to tell you." Isabelle spoke shyly, looking away for a second before taking a deep breath, looking into his eyes, her cheeks bright red. "Sam, I lo-"

She was cut off by the bright and loud explosions of the Fireworks show beginning, and she involuntarily jumped, clutching at his arm and shook a bit due to being so startled, but relaxed, resting her head on his shoulder and nuzzled him gently. He kissed her forehead, smiling as he sat with her on the bench in front of the fountain as they watched the show. Reds, blues, greens and purples all exploded in a dazzling display of art while Isabelle's tail wagged and she smiled up at Sam.

She was silent, deciding to enjoy the moment with the man she loved. Sam himself was enjoying the affection as he felt himself getting more courage as the night went on. He smiled at Isabelle as so many thoughts ran through his head as he stared into her beautiful eyes, seeing himself and the fireworks reflected in them as he touched his nose to hers and chuckled softly, commenting on how beautiful she looked tonight. She merely blushed and replied with how handsome he was, although she teased him that she'd picked out his clothes for the occasion.

"Hey, I can dress myself." Sam smiled warmly, the stress from the past few days melting away easily.

"But you still can't tie a tie." Isabelle giggled, teasing him.

"Not fair." Sam chuckled, hugging her gently and held her against him. She cuddled into his chest and she nuzzled under his chin, her tail wagging. Isabelle blushed, inhaling his cologne and made a mental note to buy it again should he run out, it was intoxicating in a good way.

Looking up at him, she asked softly, "...why have you been single for so long?"

Surprised by her question, he blushed, looking down at her as a few more fireworks went off in rapid succession as the show kept going. He bit his lip, at first unable to answer until he finally regained his voice.

"Because... I've been in love with someone else. And... she's been living with me for the past ten years. I've hoped that I'd be able to tell her how I feel, but... I've been scared of rejection, scared of my own feelings. It's weird, I know..." He shrugged. "I can't really explain it. But... she means the world to me, and I would do anything for her, because I-I love her." Sam said, his voice shaking slightly as he blushed and smiled.

"I feel the same. Being single for so long, I've always hoped the man that I loved would just sweep me off my feet and take me home. T-To... marry me, we could spend the rest of our lives together." Isabelle blushed even more, hiding her face in embarrassment.

"Letter!" Their moment was broken by Pete, who landed next to them, producing a letter from his pouch and handed it to Sam, oblivious to their intimate moment as Sam accepted the envelope, wondering what was inside. Pete flew off to deliver the mail as he looked at the address, seeing it was from Kyoto, Japan... who did he know that lived in Japan?

Isabelle looked on with him as he opened up the letter, and thankfully it was written in English:

 _"To Master Samhain Mayor,_

 _I have watched you ever since you received your letter from Mr. Crawford, and have been very impressed and touched by the lengths you went through to save your town from the corporate's clutches. It warms my heart that someone would go to even the brink of death to make sure others would have a roof over their heads, and am having my translator writing this letter while you are recovering in New Leaf General Hospital._

 _First and foremost, your dream... don't lose sight of it. Without any dreams to lead you on, it may be hard to press on in life. I know the feeling well, and I can assure you, life will bear more fruit if you always believe in yourself and follow what your heart is telling you._

 _Second, I am writing this to put your stress and fear at ease. There is no Mr. Crawford, he is simply one of my associates that I hired to see how far you would be willing to go to save your town. And I must say, you have the heart and soul of a true man. You have my eternal respect and if you shall ever need anything, please let me know. And... as for the bee incident, I am terribly terribly sorry to hear about that, I have enclosed a check of four million bells, please accept it with my condolences._

 _Third, I believe this ring belongs to you, remember, follow your dream._

 _Sincerely,_

 _Shigeru Miyamoto"_

"...F-Four million bells?! Our town would be set for life, granted if we budget it properly." Isabelle gasped, her eyes widening as she reread the letter while Sam gazed over his mother's old ring, smiling softly to himself. "And..."

"Isabelle..." Sam smiled at her, taking her paw. "Would you follow me? The show is almost over."

They were both lightheaded as he led her to the stage, smiling at eachother as the grand finale exploded and all the fireworks went off in succession as they gazed at the display, the pair enjoyed the last remaining fireworks as they slowly fizzled out and turned to their villagers, clapping and thanking them for joining them in the show.

"This couldn't be possible without all of you, I want to thank you for all of your support and kindness over the years. We really appreciate it." Sam smiled at all of his residents, who merely clapped in response. "And now, I have something very important, something long overdue."

Isabelle tilted her head as Sam turned to her, gasping as he got down on one knee and her eyes went wide.

"S-Samhain..." She stammered, her face heating up as the residents all gasped, their eyes as wide as Isabelle's.

"Isabelle... I know we've both lived together for a long time, we've both felt the same, spent our lives together thus far and you know me better than I know myself. You make me feel special every moment I'm with you, and I want to share my happiness, and my life with you." He spoke loud and clear, smiling up at her.

"S-Samhain... are you...?" Isabelle squeaked out, tears coming to her eyes as he nodded.

"...Will you marry me?" Sam asked her, holding up the ring as he smiled widely at her.

For a long minute, Isabelle stood completely still, her eyes wide as she stared down at the ring, even not appearing to be breathing until she squeaked out a "YES!" before literally collapsing onto the stage, fainting.

"Way to go, lover boy! Flexin'!" Lenardo chuckled, giving a fist-pump while the other's cheered as Sam chuckled, scooping Isabelle up in his arms and cradled her, carrying her off the stage.

He was congratulated by nearly everyone there before they began to clean up and Digby walked with them home as they talked about setting up the wedding and poor Isabelle was still passed out from the shock of him proposing as they reached the door to their house.

"...So... what was in the letter you got?" Digby asked, and Sam handed it to him, who read it several times before blinking in surprise. "Wow... just... wow... and... you didn't tell the villagers about any of this at all?"

Sam shook his head. "Why should I? Nothing gained, nothing lost in terms of the town."

"But the Town deserves to know what you did, you'd be a hero." Digby told him.

Sam again, shook his head, grinning. "I didn't do this for fame. I didn't do this for recognition, a prize or any kind of money or anything of the sort. I did this because it's my job, I did this for them because they're my family. If I let my family down, I'm worse than dirt. So... I did this for my family, for her," Sam motioned to Isabelle. "...I'm no hero, I'm just the Mayor."

Digby smiled, satisfied with his answer. "...I'll be sure to let Mr. Miyamoto that you passed the final test."

Sam opened and closed the door behind him, carrying Isabelle to bed and laid her down, but just like a few nights ago, she refused to let go, whimpering softly and clinging to him. He smiled softly and laid with her, kissing her nose as she stirred and kissed his lips in her half-roused state, still dozing lightly.

"...I love you, Samhain." She murmured, cuddling into him.

"...And I love you, Isabelle." Sam smiled, nuzzling into her as he started dozing, falling asleep with them secure in eachother's arms.

 **A/N: Well... that concludes this LONG story... tell me what you all thought. I worked pretty hard on this fic, so I would greatly appreciate your thoughts and opinions. No flames, please.**

 **How long it took to write:**

 **Start: August 12, 9:43 PM**

 **Finish: August 16, 2:17 AM**


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